


New Sheriff in Town

by WinchesterDaeva, xtremeroswellian



Series: Better Days [7]
Category: Jericho (US 2006)
Genre: Breakups, F/M, Gen, John Goetz is a big bag of dicks, Ravenwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:55:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23534167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinchesterDaeva/pseuds/WinchesterDaeva, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: "Jake, what's going on?""The government's put Ravenwood in charge while Major Beck is down. They've declared martial law on the town."Gail stepped out of the kitchen just in time to hear that announcement. "Can they do that?"Heather's expression was grim. "Yeah. They can do that."
Relationships: Heather Lisinski & Emily Sullivan, Heather Lisinski/Jake Green, Jake Green/Emily Sullivan
Series: Better Days [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1693354
Kudos: 2





	New Sheriff in Town

"What the hell is Ravenwood doing here?" Eric asked in a hushed voice as he shut the door to Jake's office behind him and looked at the other three men.

Jake shook his head. "I don't know."

"Are they working with New Bern?"

Hawkins shook his head slightly. "I don't think so. I think this runs deeper than that."

"They have to be part of this new government. It's the only thing that makes sense."

"Then why would they attempt to kill the president?" Gray asked, his eyebrows furrowed. "And Major Beck?"

"I don't think they meant to get Major Beck. He dove in front of the president," Jake began to pace in the small room. "I don't think they were even aiming to take the president down."

Hawkins watched him for a moment, then glanced toward Gray. "Maybe it was a distraction for something else."

Jake nodded. "But what?"

"It may be too soon to tell, Jake," he said grimly.

Eric drew in a breath and let it out slowly. A noise from outside Jake's office made him turn to look out the window and his eyebrows furrowed as a line of men flooded into the room. "What the--"

Jake pushed past his brother and opened the door, walking toward the men. A quick once-over confirmed who they were. He went up to the leader, instantly recognizing him. "The hell are you doing here?"

Goetz smirked faintly. "President Tormachino put me in charge of Jericho until Major Beck is recovered." He glanced around the station. "As of right now, I'm declaring martial law on this town until further notice." He looked at Jake once more. "We won't be needing your services, *Sheriff.*"

He gazed darkly at the man. "Whatever you say."

Gray Anderson narrowed his eyes. "You can't do that."

"Actually, Mayor Anderson, I can." Goetz turned his gaze to Gray. "Why don't you all go home? We'll take care of things from here on out."

"We'll see about that," Jake murmured.

* * *

Heather watched with wide eyes as the trucks rolled by the Green's house on Main Street one after another. Her heart was beating heavily in her chest as she caught sight of the name on the sides.

Ravenwood.

Suddenly, Jake appeared inside the house, Eric trailing after him. "Mom! Heather!"

She quickly stepped away from the window, her face pale. "Jake, what's going on?"

"The government's put Ravenwood in charge while Major Beck is down. They've declared martial law on the town."

Gail stepped out of the kitchen just in time to hear that announcement. "Can they do that?"

Heather's expression was grim. "Yeah. They can do that."

* * *

City Hall was packed that evening. Ravenwood had called a town meeting that night, and Jake suspected that it was to inform the town of the new laws to be put into place.

Heather sat between Gail and Emily, Jake on the other side of Emily and Eric on his other side. She drew in a breath and let it out slowly, looking around uneasily at the large group of men who stood in front of the crowd.

Once everyone was seated, Goetz stood up in front of the crowd. Immediately everyone fell silent. "Hello people of Jericho. We are here to tell you of new laws about to be put in place here while Major Beck is recovering and to protect the people from another disaster like a few days ago."

"The disaster caused by your men," Eric muttered under his breath.

Not hearing Eric's comment, he went on. "A 7 pm curfew will be effective immediately. Anyone seen out after this will be shot on sight."

There were more than a few startled exclamations at that announcement and Heather felt the blood drain from her face. It was all very familiar. Too familiar.

"Also, no one will go anywhere unaccompanied. Anyone who does, will be taken into custody."

"So who's going to accompany us?"

Heather turned to look at the back of the room where Mimi stood with Stanley and Bonnie.

"Whoever you wish. But if you are alone, be warned. There will be consequences."

"This is a violation of every civil right this country was founded on," Emily murmured.

Heather didn't look at her. "There are no civil rights anymore," she said dully.

He took a breath. "All weapons will be brought to the police station tomorrow."

Eric turned to look at Jake, startled. Then he looked at Goetz. "You can't do that."

Goetz's gaze traveled over to him. "We can and we will."

Gail's lips were drawn into a tight line. She slowly rose to her feet, staring hard at Goetz. "Don't think this town's forgotten what your gang tried to do to us the last time."

Silence fell over the room at her defiance.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

She smiled but it was a smile devoid of humor. "You may try to get us to believe you're here for our own good, but no one in this town is stupid, Mr. Goetz. Half the men in this room were out on that bridge when you tried to storm Jericho to ransack us for supplies the way you did to New Bern."

"Mrs. Green, sit down," Heather whispered, reaching up and resting a hand on her arm.

"Better listen to the little New Bern girl," one of the other men said from behind Goetz.

Jake stood suddenly, stepping in front of his mother. "You do *not* threaten her."

He smirked at Jake, then looked at Goetz, who looked irritated.

"I will not repeat myself. All weapons will be brought to the station. This is for the safety of Jericho."

"Safety," Stanley muttered, shaking his head.

"Any other rules you're gonna use to keep us *safe*?" Eric questioned, rising to his feet.

Goetz nodded. "We will be doing house checks at random. If we find any kind of firearm, you will be detained. And we will be reinstating rations."

"This is ridiculous," Mimi grumbled.

"That is all. You may all return to your homes."

Gray rose slowly to his feet, looking a little shell-shocked. He paused and looked at Jake, then glanced toward the door.

"We'll meet later," he muttered.

He nodded and slowly headed out the door.

Heather remained seated in her chair beside Emily, gazing intently at Goetz and the other men from Ravenwood.

Goetz looked back at her, a menacing spark in his eye.

She swallowed hard, then slowly rose to her feet. She wondered if anything else could possibly go wrong.

* * *

Heather wrapped her arms around herself as she slowly climbed out of the Green's truck, glancing at Emily as she got out of her own vehicle. She watched Jake crawl out of the passenger side, say something brief to the pretty blond, and then head for the front door, glancing at her on the way. She met his gaze for a split second, then paused til Emily had caught up with her. "I need to talk to you."

Emily folded her arms and nodded. "Yeah, what's up?"

"I think you should stay here."

She raised her eyebrow. "What you mean?"

"I don't think you should go back to the Pines. It's not safe. Not with these guys in town." Her blue eyes were filled with worry. "You shouldn't be staying alone, Em."

"You'll be here too, won't you?"

Heather bit her lip. "Don't really have anywhere else to go."

She gazed at her, expression sad. "I'm sorry."

"But...Stanley and Bonnie probably have room for one more. I mean, I think Stanley would be okay with me staying there. We've been pretty good friends, and Mimi seems pretty nice too."

Emily gave her a look. "Jake won't go for that and you know it."

"It's not Jake's decision."

"Heather...I'm going to talk to Jake."

"It's a good idea," she agreed quietly, nodding a little. "I'm sure he'll be really glad to have you here." She smiled faintly.

"It's not about that," Emily murmured, looking away.

Heather's eyebrows furrowed. "Then what--"

"We're not close like we were five years ago."

She fell silent for a moment. "I don't understand."

"He loves you," she whispered.

For a moment, Heather was sure she'd heard her wrong. "I'm sorry?"

"Jake loves you," she repeated, looking up at her.

She stared at Emily. "No. He doesn't." She shook her head.

"He does. He really does."

She shut her eyes, shaking her head again. "I've seen the way he looks at you. You guys are happy together. And I'm glad about that. I really am." She opened her eyes to look at Emily, managing a small smile. "So don't...go and do anything we'll all regret later, okay?"

"You didn't see the way Jake reacted when he found out Jonah had taken you."

Heather looked away. "Jake cares about people. He would've been just as upset if Jonah had taken off with Mary Bailey or Darcy Hawkins."

Emily shook her head. "He wouldn't have gone half cocked like he did. He barely waited for Kenchy to stitch him up before he made me take him to the station..."

"We're friends, Emily. That's it. That's all we've ever been," she whispered. "It's all we ever will be."

"It's not."

She let out a slow breath and looked down at the ground. "You're making a mistake."

"I think...this is the first thing I've really been sure about in a long time."

Heather swallowed hard as Emily moved past her slowly and headed up the porch and into the house. She shut her eyes once more, leaning heavily against the Green's truck for support.

*

Once Jake had gotten inside, he headed straight for the couch where he eased himself onto it, staying off his bad shoulder. After he settled, he closed his eyes.

"Jake." Emily's voice was quiet as she stepped into the house. "We need to talk."

He kept his eyes shut. "About?"

She moved to sit beside him. "Us."

He opened his eyes again, sitting up with a wince. "Okay..."

"This isn't working, Jake," she said very softly.

He shook his head, "I don't understand."

Emily looked down for a moment, then up at him once more, meeting his eyes. "The past few weeks...have been...insane. We thought Heather was dead, we went to war with New Bern, and then your dad..." Her voice trailed off. "And I think...we both thought we could just...pick up where we left off five years ago. Because it was safe. Familiar."

"Emily--"

"Let me finish," she whispered, lifting a hand to his cheek. "I think we'll always love each other in some way. But we haven't been in love for a long time, Jake. And if you listen to your heart, you'll realize you know that too."

He swallowed, taking in her words. "Heather."

A faint smile touched her lips. "If you would have asked me a few months ago if I was okay with that, I would've said hell no. Honestly I didn't want you anywhere near her. But that was my mistake. I was wrong to hold you responsible for what happened with Chris. It wasn't your fault." She looked down for a moment. "You're a good man, Jake."

"Sure," he murmured, looking away.

"You are." Emily touched his hand. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you that before."

"You were right before."

"No, I wasn't," she said quietly. "And I can't make you forgive yourself." She brushed a kiss against his cheek and slowly rose to her feet. "But...I can tell you something I do know." She gazed at him intently.

He looked up at her. "What's that?"

"Heather isn't the same person she used to be." Her voice was very quiet. "I don't know what happened in New Bern, but whatever it was...it's changed her. And not in a good way." Emily paused. "And if anyone's going to get through to her, it's gonna be you."

"I can't do it alone," he admitted quietly.

"You won't," she assured him softly.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Emily smiled as he slowly rose to his feet. She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "I'm gonna go home and pack a bag. I'm gonna stay with some neighbors for awhile. Heather said it wasn't safe to stay alone with Ravenwood here and I have a feeling she's right."

He hugged her back. "You can stay here...I want you to."

"I will. In a few days," she promised, kissing his cheek and pulling away from him.

"Be careful."

Emily smiled. "Do me a favor and take your own advice for a change," she teased.

He gave her a lopsided smile. "I'll try."

"I'll see you." She turned and headed for the door.

"See you."

Emily drew in a breath as she stepped out onto the porch, the sunlight warming her skin as she headed for her truck. It felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. With a smile, she climbed into the driver's seat and headed for home.

* * *

At seven o'clock that night, the town was eerily silent. Heather stood at the bedroom window, arms wrapped around herself as she gazed out into the setting sun. She watched as several armed Ravenwood men walked past on patrol and she shuddered involuntarily, pulling the curtains closed quickly and moving away from the window.

There was a soft knock on the doorframe as she stepped away.

She turned to see Jake standing there and she swallowed hard. "Hey."

"Hey," he said softly.

"What's up?" She bit her lip.

"Nothing...just been thinking."

Heather nodded slightly. "It's a lot to take in."

He let out a long breath. "Yeah, it is."

"Your mom asleep?"

"Yeah. I told her she needed it."

"Good," she said softly.

"You know, you need some too."

"I'm not the one who was recently stabbed," Heather pointed out quietly.

He unconsciously put his hand lightly on his back. "Yeah, but I wasn't the one who was recently kidnapped."

"You win."

He smiled slightly, then looked at the bed. "Want to sit?"

Heather tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and perched on the edge of the bed, resting her hands in her lap.

Walking further into the room, Jake placed himself beside her. "Want to talk?"

She glanced at him sideways. "I've been thinking. I don't think we should turn over all the firearms to Ravenwood."

"No. We won't," he shook his head.

"Good," she murmured, letting out a slow breath.

"I won't let these bastards take control of this town."

"You're not alone there."

He smiled a little. "Yeah, I know."

Heather smiled shyly and looked down at the floor.

"I'm glad you're here," he glanced at her.

"Beats the alternative," she tried to joke.

His features became serious, worn. "That's not funny."

She shuddered involuntarily, nodding. "I know."

He put a hesitant hand on her back and began rubbing slowly. "I'll make sure you'll always be safe here."

The tears that flooded her eyes were sudden and unexpected. She rested her head in her hands for a moment, trying to get control of her emotions.

"Hey," he murmured. "Come here."

She opened her mouth to tell him that she was okay. That she wasn't going to break down. Instead, much to her horror, a soft sob escaped her.

He pulled her to him, putting his chin on the top of her head, and remaining silent.

Heather shuddered against him as she wept on his shoulder, her fingers curling into the back of his t-shirt.

He whispered soft, comforting words to her as she cried. His arm never leaving her.

After several long moments, her sobs quieted and she slowly pulled away from him, embarrassed. "Sorry. I got your shirt all wet."

"Don't be sorry," he said softly.

She sniffled a little, managing a small smile. "I'm not usually..."

"Everyone has their moments," his eyes were soft as he gazed at her.

"I guess so," she murmured, missing the look he gave her.

"You're strong, Heather. Stronger than you know."

"Your mom said the same thing to me."

He smiled. "Then we must be right."

Heather smiled a little, as well, glancing up at him momentarily. "You should get some rest, Jake."

"I will."

"Good."

"But first..." He stood up. "You need to."

"All right," she said quietly, knowing he wasn't going to accept no for an answer. Truthfully she was exhausted, but she was dreading sleep. God only knew what horrors her dreams would bring.

He saw the hesitation in her movements. "I'll stay here if you want..."

Heather looked up at him, caught off guard by the offer.

"To shoot the monsters that try to come near you," he joked, half serious.

"Only if you're gonna get some sleep too."

"Eventually."

"Jake. It's a big bed." Her cheeks flushed as the words left her mouth before her brain had a chance to catch up.

He chuckled softly. "Go to sleep Heather."

"Right. Sleeping now." She shook her head as she reluctantly slid under the covers and closed her eyes.

He brushed the hair off her face. "Night."

"Night," she whispered, biting her lower lip.

"I promise, nothing will get you in your sleep," he whispered.

Heather relaxed, her head sinking into the pillow as she drifted off to sleep, his promise wrapping itself around her heart and her mind.


End file.
